


In love and awkward about it

by keithsfangs



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Awkward Crush, Awkward Lance (Voltron), First Dates, First Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Love Confessions, M/M, Mentioned Shiro/Adam, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sexuality, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), THEY JUST TALK ABOUT IT, deep discussions, kind of, klance, no actual homophobia takes place though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29988468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keithsfangs/pseuds/keithsfangs
Summary: Keith was, for all intents and purposes, a loner. If you asked him, he liked it that way. He had nobody to impress, nobody to answer to, and nobody to embarrass himself in front of. He’d tell you that he didn’t care much about love, that it didn’t bother him that he was still single, and that he was happy that way.That didn’t make it the truth, though.Or, Keith has a crush and Lance is naturally cuddly
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 106





	In love and awkward about it

**Author's Note:**

> Lance and Keith do discuss homophobia, or rather, the potential of facing homophobia, but they do not explicitly face any homophobia in this fic- everybody is supportive

Keith was, for all intents and purposes, a loner. If you asked him, he liked it that way. He had nobody to impress, nobody to answer to, and nobody to embarrass himself in front of. He’d tell you that he didn’t care much about love, that it didn’t bother him that he was still single, and that he was happy that way.

That didn’t make it the truth, though. 

Sure, Keith had a decent tolerance for his own company, but despite that, he was heartachingly _lonely_. When he was a kid, and it was just him and his dad, he felt oddly at peace with the physical isolation from the town his home gave him. It felt private, and nice; and because he always had somebody waiting for him when he got home from a rough day at school, he didn’t feel quite so alone. 

And then his dad had died, and suddenly Keith was alone in a way he wasn’t used to. Whilst he didn’t want to leave his home, he’d initially been a little excited about the idea of living with other kids, having always been curious about what it might be like to have siblings. They painted a picture of a safe, kind refuge, but that wasn’t the case. Keith soon learned to fight back, soon learned that survival meant growing up too fast, and fending for himself. Adults wouldn’t protect him. Other kids wouldn’t be kind to him. And foster parents would sit him down with the ‘it’s not you, it’s us’ talk, because Keith didn’t fit in with their perfect family image.

And then Keith met Shiro, and for the first time in a long time, Keith grieved for his dad again. Shiro was kind, compassionate, and seemed to genuinely care about Keith’s wellbeing. At the time, it felt to Keith as though he’d been given the world, but now he understood that he’d received the bare minimum. Basic compassion and empathy had become such a luxury to Keith that the moment somebody showed him some, he immediately cling to that person, and enrolled in a military school just because Shiro suggested he should.

Keith knew school was lonely, but the Garrison was lonelier. From constant teasing to outright being ignored, Keith didn’t make a single friend. He tried, as best he could, but apparently he was ‘antisocial’ and ‘violent’. Sure, he punched a few dickheads, and maybe carried around a knife, but it was purely sentimental. He didn’t really have any interest in stabbing anybody, and the knife was more of a comfort blanket, really.

And then Shiro left. Shiro left, and Shiro died, and Keith was alone. The pressure from the garrison mounted even higher now Shiro wasn’t around to protect him, and- well. Iverson took things a bit too far and Keith lashed out. Needless to say, after a trip to the ER and one permanent blinding later, and Keith was booted out. He was just old enough that he avoided going back into care, but now he was fending for himself.

He learned to do the groceries, and how to go to the nearest burger joint and order food without combusting into flames and walking back out. He couldn’t figure out the bills, but he just about got by. The lady in the post office was happy to sort them out for him. 

And Keith was alone.

And then Lance happened.

Well, to be more specific, Voltron happened, but Lance was the main source of Keith’s current problems.

Well, it was more of Keith’s problem, really.

Keith had been so lonely for so long that he’d forced himself to adapt to it. With an impressive amount of suppression and an amazing amount of denial and obliviousness, Keith had managed to convince himself that he was okay being alone.

But then Lance came along, with his big heart and his stubborn resolve, and it completely broke Keith. Because Lance made Keith crave affection.

Lance grew up with siblings, in a huge family compared to Keith, and a loving one at that. Lance grew up with casual affection, and it bled into all of his friendships and all of his relationships. Lance had so much love to give, and he did it so effortlessly. Lance was the one who would grab his own blankets to drape on top of Pidge when they fell asleep in the common room. Lance was the one who made shitty chicken noodle soup when Hunk got sick, even if he couldn’t really cook that well at all. Lance was the one who spent his last few GAC on a soothing ointment at the space mall because he noticed Shiro was having trouble with his prosthetic when on colder planets or after an intense battle. Lance was the one who stayed up all night untangling a knot in Allura’s favourite necklace just so she could wear it for her date with Romelle. Lance was the one who shared his facemasks with Romelle when she was stressed about the future and needed some time to unwind. Lance was the one who found old photographs of Coran’s family, and printed them off in an album to give to him on Father’s Day, because he was their weird space uncle, after all.

And Keith wasn’t the exception to the rule. He didn’t know if he wanted to be the one Lance didn’t make an effort for, because then he wouldn’t have fallen in love. And he didn’t want to be the exception, because he liked feeling like he mattered to somebody, even if it was just casual affection.

It hurt his heart the most during moments like this, where Keith was a little busted up from the battle and Lance had him sitting on the counter by the sink, standing between his legs and dabbing at his wounds with a wet cotton pad to clean them up a bit. He was muttering under his breath, lecturing Keith about his recklessness, casually just grabbing Keith’s chin to angle his face better, and Keith’s breath kept catching in his throat and forcing him to blush violently.

Because Lance’s touch was so caring and tender, and there was something so intimate and private about this moment, and Keith didn’t know what to think. They were barely even friends- they were rivals, or so Lance said. Keith refused all of Lance’s invites to his spa nights, refused to laugh at his jokes or hold his hand to cross a dangerous chasm.

Right now, there was a dark intensity in Lance’s eyes, an expression Keith couldn’t read and a side of Lance that Keith didn’t know. Because Lance seemed sad, or some other kind of less than positive emotion Keith couldn’t pinpoint, and he was rambling on at Keith, but he didn’t really seem mad or angry- at least, not in the way Keith knew. Because Lance was being so gentle in his touch, so attentive, and Keith was melting under it. 

“You could’ve died, Keith,” Lance mumbled on, “you could’ve died, but did you listen to Shiro? No. You ran in there anyway, you just _had_ to be the hero, didn’t you? I swear to god, I’m gonna go grey before I’m thirty because of you, and then I won’t be able to tease Shiro about looking like a pensioner, because _I’ll_ look like a pensioner, and then I’ll have to yell at kids to get off my lawn and spend the whole day complaining about the newspapers and squinting at the TV. All because somebody-“ Lance gestured accusingly at Keith- “couldn’t listen to instructions for once and _not_ run into a burning building to go back and get some kid’s teddy. I swear, you’ll be the death of me, Kogane, _the death of me!_ ”

Lance huffed, momentarily lowering the cotton ball, before dabbing at Keith’s split eyebrow once again. “Just… be more careful out there, okay? I don’t wanna lose you,” Lance confessed softly, looking down as he set the cotton ball aside and began to wet another one. There was something so… downtrodden, raw and real in Lance’s expression, and Keith couldn’t bear to see it, but he knew that it was something he’d caused, and that hurt the worst.

“Okay,” Keith replied softly, “I’ll try.” Lance sighed heavily, and Keith didn’t miss the way he shaked slightly as he slowly stepped aside from Keith, shakily pouring antiseptic onto a new cotton ball. 

“That’s all I’m asking,” Lance replied quietly, before stepping back into Keith’s space and tilting his head up. “Hold still,” Lance instructed, giving Keith the wet cotton bud to hold to his steadily bleeding split lip, and dabbing at the wound above his eye with the antiseptic. Keith winced, and Lance apologised, dabbing a little gentler even though it was gonna sting like a bitch either way.

Time passed in silence, until Lance had softly closed the wound with steri-strips, or butterfly stitches, as Keith had always known them, and gently tugged at Keith’s wrist so he could look at the wound on his lip. It must’ve looked bad, because Lance winced in sympathy.

“Well,” Lance began, sucking in a deep breath, “you’re not gonna be kissing anyone for a while, that’s for sure.”

“I have nobody to kiss anyway,” Keith sarked, hoping to distract himself from how close Lance was standing now, and the gentle touch of his fingertips to Keith’s dry lips. He held his breath, hoping that it wasn’t too obvious by the blotchy puce on his ruddied cheeks that he maybe liked this intimacy in a way he’d never let anyone know.

“You don’t?”

“I don’t,” Keith confirmed, and Lance shook his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Not once?”

“I’m not exactly-” Keith winced at the pain in his lip- “somebody people wanna kiss.”

“Then they’re all stupid,” Lance replied, and there was such a finery determination in his eyes, and Keith couldn’t understand why. Lance raised the wet cotton ball, and began to wipe the blood from Keith’s chin and lip.

“What’s that supposed to mean,” Keith dared to ask quietly, and Lance flushed a little, opening his mouth as if to reply before shaking his head. 

“You’re moving too much,” Lance deflected, angling Keith’s head again, “hold still for me.” Keith didn’t push it, and did as Lance had asked, hoping that their proximity didn’t give away the rise in Keith’s body heat or the raising of Keith’s pulse. Lance was still so gentle, his fingers constantly brushing Keith’s lips and leaving them tingling and buzzing, and Keith could only hope that the hitch in his breath every time Lance’s dexterous fingers made contact was as subtle as Keith had hoped it was.

Minutes passed in oddly comfortable silence, until Keith realised that his lip was probably wiped clean a while ago, and Lance was just stalling for time.

It was Keith’s turn to gently tug Lance’s wrist away, not missing how Lance sighed a little too heavily and wearily at the end of the contact. “Lance,” Keith prompted softly, “That’s enough for now.”

“Right.Sorry,” Lance replied, slowly stepping from between Keith’s legs and putting the cotton pads down, but he didn’t leave. He just lingered. Probably because it was his bathroom and Keith was the one who should leave, but he was pretty comfortable sitting where he was, and truth be told, he didn’t really want to move away from Lance. He missed the way his body naturally leaned towards where Lance stood at the side, but he didn’t miss how disappointed he felt now that Lance was no longer stood so close, how disappointed and cold he felt now he couldn’t feel Lance’s gentle fingers against his chin, or the way his warm breath had been fanning across his face for so long.

“It’s okay,” Keith replied hurriedly, “I don’t mind.”

“Just… be careful out there, okay Keith?” Something about Lance’s expression looked so vulnerable, so raw, but Keith didn’t have the chance to question it before Lance was hurriedly talking and packing up his stuff. “Anyway! All done now, so, yeah, you can, I should go,” Lance seemed to cut himself off mid-ramble, hurrying out of the room with haste and not looking back. Keith sighed heavily, running his hand through his hair and wondering where he’d fucked up.

—-

Keith didn’t see Lance around much after that. The closest he’d come was catching the tail end of a private conversation Lance had been having with Hunk in the kitchens late at night- not enough to know what was going on, but just enough to hear him thank Hunk for listening to him and be wrapped up in a warm hug, sent off to bed with a mug of hot chocolate with floating marshmallows and cream in it, blanket wrapped around his shoulders and eyes puffy and red raw, like he’d been crying and like he hadn’t slept in a while.

Keith hadn’t said anything, but when he walked in to grab himself a glass of water, Hunk was watching him carefully. “What?”

“I just… look out for Lance for me, would you? He’s… going through some pretty big things right now, and, I think _you’re_ the one he needs right now.”

“Um.”

“I mean, I’m his best friend and all, and I always will be, but I really can’t help him much with this, I mean I can give him ice cream and pat his back, but… I’m not the comfort he needs right now.”

“And I am?” Keith stared at Hunk in disbelief, the mention of ice cream having him reaching for the warm ice cream option, grabbing his knife and just spooning it out of the bowl with it, biting it off the end of his knife. 

“Seriously? Is that how you eat ice cream? That’s kinda scary dude,” Hunk rambled, and Keith shrugged.

“Yeah. It cuts the block easier and biting it is better than licking it.”

“First of all, that’s horrifying,” Hunk began, holding up a finger, “and second of all, that’s terrifying. Biting ice cream should be illegal, thank you very much.”

Keith purposely made eye contact on his next bite, and Hunk pointed a spoon at him. “You’re on thin ice,” he joked, and Keith snorted and rolled his eyes.

Keith didn’t notice that Hunk had deflected his question until Hunk had already said goodnight and walked off.

—-

It was a few days before Keith finally caught up to Lance. Lance hadn’t even noticed Keith walk into the common area, where Lance was sat with his head hung low, arms loosely folded over his body as though he was injured, but Keith knew that he wasn’t. Not physically, at least.

Keith decided to bite the bullet and go up to the sad-looking couch hog, sliding in beside him and barging him halfway across the sofa. “Budge up, sharpshooter, you’re taking up half the couch-“

“Hey!” Lance squawked in indignation, shoving right back with a glare. Keith didn’t get to appreciate Lance being back to normal for very long, though, because he soon flushed and turned away, downtrodden expression back on his face once more.

“So, can I join your pity party, or is it invite only?”

“Oh ha ha, very funny, Keith,” Lance muttered, “and it’s not a pity party. I’m just…”

“Just…” Keith prompted. 

Lance shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit,” Keith interjected boldly. Lance looked up harshly- he looked almost scandalised, but more than anything, he looked like a rabbit caught in headlights. He seemed conflicted, appearing to debate himself in his head whilst he sat there gaping like a fish, before seeming to decide to be blunt.

“I think I’m bi,” Lance announced a little too loudly, like he was afraid he wouldn’t ever get the words out, “it’s messing with my head is all.”

“Oh,” Keith replied, because this had really taken an unexpected term, and Keith hadn’t scripted any socially acceptable replies for this kind of situation. Keith’s comfort skills practically ended at ‘there there’ and a head pat, maybe a ‘get well soon’ if he was feeling adventurous. If he was feeling particularly spicy, maybe a ‘leave the math to Pidge’ might slip out, but that was about it. And none of those responses were suitable for this scenario.

“Yeah,” Lance breathed out awkwardly, taking a deep breath. “exactly…”

“Do you… are you… um.” Keith blankscreened, unsure of what he should say even if he’d been though similar himself before. “Do you… are you comfortable, with that? Are you okay with that? With the idea of seeing yourself as bi?”

“Yeah,” Lance replied, “no. I don’t know. And that’s the worst thing. I just, never had a problem with it, y‘know. Until…”

“Until you realised you might be bi yourself and then, suddenly it was scary and weird, right?”

“Yeah,” Lance breathed, “exactly.” He paused. “But I don’t know why.”

“Because,” Keith began carefully, hoping that he was reading the situation- reading _Lance-_ correctly. “You’ve… grown up with one, solid view and idea of who you are. Being gay, it’s… so far away from our existence, so far away from, what we think about of ourselves that… we just… grow up blind to it. Everybody tells us who we are. We’re told that one day, we’ll find a nice girl, that, we’ll have our first kisses and first times with a girl, get a girlfriend, get a wife, have kids… even as a small kid, we’re asked about girls at school. And the gay community seems like this… big, secret organisation. Like some secret society at some secret location that we just couldn’t possibly be a part of because we just, aren’t in it, y‘know? Nobody’s told us to go check it out, or invited us. There’s no letter through our door to say we’re invited to the club because we like guys. So we just… go a large portion of our lives completely oblivious and painfully straight.

“Except we’re not. We’re not straight. So we grow up feeling like we’re always on the outside, even when we’re not. Because we just… _something_ is different, and it just- pulls us away from our lives because everything feels fake. And then when we start to put two and two together, no matter how accepting of ourselves we are… suddenly our entire view of ourselves is flipped upside down. Even if we’re confident and comfortable in it, thinking that you knew yourself to find out that you didn’t, and to find that you’ve lived a life where you were completely robbed of that part of your identity… yeah, it’s rough. Really rough sometimes, and, that’s just kind of how it is.

“And then you… start to think of, people eventually knowing. And you’re… having to explain to somebody an experience that they probably can’t relate to, and probably will never know, and you don’t know if what you say is… gonna change how they view you, if, things will be awkward now or not, or, if they’ll treat you differently in the locker room or not. And it feels so… foreign to apply a label to yourself, like you’re still waiting for somebody to come and tell you that you’re valid, that it’s real, that you’re not making it up and faking, and there’s a community out there _just for you_ that you’re actually welcome in, that you belong to… but that invite never comes, because you have to give _yourself_ the permission to be in it.

“And then there’s learning how much shit you’ve internalised. That, the reason those slurs hurt so much even when directed at others wasn’t because you were an empathetic, over-enthusiastic ally, but because it applied to _you_ , and that they only had the audacity to say it out loud because they felt safe to do so, because they didn’t know and just, expected you to agree with them because it’s just so normal to them to think like that. And you grow up hearing all these… horrible opinions and wishes, and, even if you never believe it yourself, it still damages you. And the worst thing is it often comes from people who you’re supposed to be able to talk to about anything. Family, friends, teachers, doctors… let me tell you, it isn’t fun to hear it directed at people you care about either whilst you have to sit there and not say anything because you’re secretly gay. And you can’t, you _can’t say anything,_ because you’re too scared, too closeted, and you don’t feel safe when suddenly the threat of bigotry is very, very real. It’s no longer an abstract concept. It’s no longer something that’ll never happen to you, or’ll only happen to somebody else- suddenly it’s very, _very real_ and _tangible_.

“So yeah,” Keith breathed, “I get it.”

“I’m… yeah… you hit the nail on the head there, buddy,” Lance replied lightly, but there was a distinct heaviness in it, the wordless kinship breaking through the silence. A lot went unsaid, but a lot didn’t need to be said anymore. “I… for some reason didn’t expect you to- understand it so well.”

“I mean… I’m gay, Lance. So- whilst I can’t fully relate, I do know what you’re going through.”

“I just- I spent my whole life knowing I like girls, right? So I just- it never occurred to me to question if I might like guys too. Or, that gender wasn’t just man and woman, that attraction wasn’t just either/or. That life was… complicated. That identity was complicated. That _I_ was complicated. And I guess I just- feel like my whole life was thrown on its head.

“And I know my mom never meant anything by it, because she didn’t know, but- she’d always proudly gush about how I’d make an excellent husband to my wife one day, or, how I’d find the right girl eventually, or how I was girl crazy. And my family’s straight. Mom’s straight, Marco and Luis are both straight, Veronica probably is, and, Rachel always talks about boys, and Nadia and Sylvio are just kids who probably haven’t figured it out yet, and dad… dad’s not with mom anymore, but he’s definitely straight. He works far away. Vero got a scholarship to the garrison, but… I didn’t. And my dad sent money one day so my mom could send me there. But I don’t… I don’t actually _know_ my dad and, I don’t know what he’d think of me. He has money set aside to pay for all of our weddings and, I don’t know how to react when he tells me it’s for my wife and I when I… might not even have a wife one day. Or… maybe I will, but… I’m still bi… I’ll always be bi, and I’m so scared that whatever I do in life, I’m gonna be reduced down to being one or the other, and that my identity, my bi-ness… will just, be ignored.”

Keith sat there quietly, listening. He couldn’t pretend to relate to any of that, but he had compassion and understanding for Lance. He hadn’t grown up with anybody like him, and even if they all accepted him, they were used to seeing him one way, so it might take them time to figure out how to navigate Lance’s newfound sexuality.

“My dad died when I was young,” Keith began, “and even now I… wonder what he would’ve thought about it. If… he would’ve hugged me and told me it was all okay, or if he’d have yelled slurs at me and thrown me out, or… if he’d have just been silent about it and I’d never have known what he felt about it because he never brought it up. Shiro was the first person I came out to, and, Adam too, I guess. Having them in my life, it… made it easier, somewhat. Because I knew I had somebody to protect me, who, would _understand_. They’re both gay, and, I’m gay. I always had somebody to talk to about it. When I told them, it was easier for them to process, because they’d been there themselves once. So I… was treated completely normally. No awkward allyship, no biting slurs or vitriol. Just… wholesome acceptance.”

“I wish I had that security,” Lance replied quietly, “that I could confidently sit here and say that I, could come out and everything would be okay like that, like they could actually understand what I was going through and, embrace it with no fuss. I guess I’m just, scared, you know? It’s… a lot.”

“Yeah, it can be a real headfuck,” Keith empathised, huffing a small laugh, hoping that some lighthearted personal anecdotes could help Lance’s mood a little. “Do you remember how I came out to the team?” Lance’s small smile was enough to tell Keith that he was on the right track. 

“Oh, man, I had second hand embarrassment for you,” Lance began, and Keith snorted.

“I outed myself in front of alien ambassadors because when they accused me of hiding something I went into my gayest state of panic and blurted it out,” Keith recalled with a cringe, “and they actually meant my Marmora blade.”

“You know Shiro actually face palmed, right?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Keith laughed fondly, “how could I forget? He looked so disappointed in me it was almost kinda funny. And you screeched in shock and proceeded to follow me round all day asking questions.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, dude, I just- kinda-“ Lance rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck- “panicked, you know? And suddenly I wasn’t the only one on the team and, I just, I don’t know. Maybe if you were out, you had the answers I needed, y‘know? But I understand now that I needed to figure things out for myself instead.”

“I’m still not over the fact you didn’t realise Shiro was gay until last week,” Keith teased, a soft smile making its way onto his face without his permission, his expression softening. “I’m proud of you, Lance.”

Lance’s eyes widened momentarily, before a pink-tinged blush darkened his cheeks, face melting into an equally soft smile. “Thank you, Keith. I’m proud of you too. Even if you put food goo in your hair.”

“What? I don’t- _hey!!!_ Get back here!! Lance!! I was trying to bond with you, you little shit-“

—-

After that talk, Lance became significantly closer to Keith, and Keith wasn’t sure if his poor, gay heart could take it. He figured Lance was clinging to him because Keith was the only gay kid his age he could really talk to right now, but it certainly didn’t help Keith’s chronic case of being a lovesick idiot. He wasn’t sure if he could take yet another round of confusion when his heart was beating way too fast during medicals, because Lance was goofing off trying to make him laugh in the most adorably Lance way. Right now, they were watching a film together. Or- well. Keith had been sitting on his own in the common room because he couldn’t sleep, and Lance stumbled across him, and promptly plopped himself down next to Keith and made himself a ridiculously oversized yet cozy blanket nest that he pulled Keith into, and demanded that they spend the night watching movies together. And what was Keith supposed to do, refuse? Lance was too enchanting, too enthusiastic, and Keith honestly didn’t want to say no when it meant Lance was smiling like this. Keith hadn’t seen Lance smile quite like this in a long, long while. 

The problem, however, was that Lance was a very cuddly person. And despite Keith usually having the social skills of a cactus, Lance didn’t seem to care at all. It only took a few minutes before Lance’s legs were thrown across Keith’s lap, his arm around his shoulder and his head resting against Keith’s, and Lance seemed so casual in his affections whilst Keith was internally combusting from the proximity to such a hot guy. 

Keith had never felt so attracted to anyone in his life as he did right now. He felt like he was on fire, or having a heart attack, or maybe both. His brain had stopped working hours ago, because all he could think of was the butterflies in his gut right now. The butterflies had mostly faded into a more gentle love for Lance long ago, but this? This was new. This cuddling, this casual affection, this casual vulnerability and care that Lance showed towards Keith- that was all new. And Keith was so flustered it physically hurt. And Lance was laughing and smiling and he was beautiful, so painfully beautiful that Keith never wanted to be anywhere else but in his arms.

“Keith?” 

“Huh? What?”

“You… kind of zoned out there, is everything alright?”

“Oh- uh-“ Keith’s brain was refusing to work. He knew he should reply, but his brain just shut down completely, and he blurted the one thing he really didn’t want to blurt right now.

“I’m gay! I- I mean- I’m okay!! Shit- um- _fuck…_ ”

Just kill him now. Just take him away. He wanted the ground to swallow him up. He hid his face in his hands, and practically curled in on himself like an armadillo.

If he looked up, he wouldn’t have missed Lance’s soft, lovesick smile, or the way Lance was equally as flustered. Maybe he might’ve kissed him, if only he knew that Lance was in love with him too. 

As it was, though, Keith was sitting there having a crisis, hoping that he never had to face Lance ever again.

“Keith?”

“I am _so_ sorry!” Keith rambled, “that was literally the _worst_ thing I could’ve said right now, I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry-“

“Keith,” Lance interrupted softly, “I love you too.”

“I know, I _know_ , I’ve just made things so awkward between us, I am, _so_ sorry, I-“ Keith cut himself off harshly, finally processing what Lance had just said to him. “ _oh…_ ”

“I uh… kind of, chickened out of asking you out and all, so um… I kind of, planned this when I saw you in here, and I guess I just… I don’t know, hoped that if I acted like we were on a date, then you’d like, cotton onto my feelings and either let me down gently and pretend you didn’t notice, or, like, kiss me or something, but in hindsight, that was kinda dumb given how much you usually struggle to read people, but I guess I was just, really really nervous, you know? I’ve never been on a date with a guy before, and I didn’t even know if, like, it was okay for me to ask and stuff, and I figured I couldn’t really like, flirt with you, because I don’t know, I just- guess I wanted to try… I don’t know…?” Lance trailed off awkwardly, and Keith smiled softly into his hands, cheeks flaming. Keith didn’t know how to respond, mainly because he just couldn’t stop smiling into his hands. He was smitten, completely and totally so, and honestly, he had no idea how to handle that. He wasn’t usually like this around guys, but Lance just did something to him that turned him to mush on the insides, and Keith had no idea how to handle so much emotions.

“Keith…? Did I… read too much into this? Is this, am _I_... too much?”

“N-no!” Keith stammered out, sitting up sharply and grabbing Lance by the shoulders. “I just- I- panicked!! Gay panicked. I’ve, never, done this before. Nobody’s ever, confessed to me, and, I’ve, never really, liked a guy the way I like you before. And I, emotions are, rough, for me. I struggle with them, and, they overwhelm me, a lot. And, I’m not used to, feeling so… so _happy_... you make me _happy_ , Lance.”

Lance’s expression softened, resting their foreheads together affectionately. “I’m glad I can be the one to make you happy, Keith… you make me happy too.”

Keith melted, butterflies erupting in his stomach and cheeks catching ablaze with heat. Lance was just so… so… just _so_! And Keith couldn’t cope with that.

“Hey, mullet,” Lance called across the small gap between them, voice soft and affectionate. Keith dared to look him in the eye, his breath catching in his throat. “Can I kiss you?”

Keith took a deep breath, and nodded. “Yeah… yeah you can… as long as you do it again.”

**Author's Note:**

> To clarify: Lance came out to Hunk first :)
> 
> (also yes I wrote this to procrastinate writing Bismuth For Your Thoughts. Turns out I can be very productive when I'm avoiding something askdjkl)


End file.
